I want to take today’s topic slowly — the nervous system deserves that. This isn’t something to bulldoze through. It’s something you feel before you understand, something your body has probably been trying to say for years.
Here’s the simplest truth I can give you:
Your nervous system doesn’t just influence your health — it shapes your entire lived experience.
Every reaction, every gut feeling, every moment you shut down, every moment you open up, every spike, every crash… it’s all nervous system.
And somehow, we were taught to treat it like an optional side note. A “when something goes wrong” conversation. A background character.
But when you actually pay attention, you realize it’s been running the whole show.
You’re Not “Too Sensitive” — You’re Overloaded
So many people tell me they feel broken. Or reactive. Or exhausted. Or like they don’t have the same capacity other people seem to have.
But I don’t see broken people. I see overwhelmed nervous systems trying their best to keep up with a world they weren’t built for.
Your body was designed for slowness. For sunlight. For quiet. For clean water and predictable rhythms and human connection.
Instead, it gets:
- chemicals in the water (including fluoride — remember that post?)
- artificial light at all hours
- nonstop notifications
- noise overload
- environmental toxins
- EMFs
- processed foods
- constant urgency
Your nervous system isn’t overreacting. It’s responding exactly as it should to a world that’s forgotten what being human feels like.
Stress Isn’t a Feeling — It’s a Setting
We hear the word “stress” and think it’s emotional. But the nervous system interprets stress as “I’m not safe.”
And once it flips into that mode — even a little — everything shifts:
- Your digestion slows.
- Your hormones compensate.
- Your inflammation rises.
- Your breathing tightens.
- Your sleep becomes shallow.
- Your clarity dims.
- Your patience evaporates.
And because this becomes your normal, you stop noticing it.
But your body hasn’t stopped noticing you.
What Actually Helps — The Simple, Human Stuff
I’m not going to tell you to overhaul your life or start some 20-step protocol. Your system doesn’t need more tasks — it needs fewer.
What actually works are signals your body instinctively recognizes.
1. Bare feet on real earth
Not a product. Not a mat. Just earth.
Grounding works because your body is electrical. The earth is electrical. They synchronize. Your nervous system responds. Your chemistry follows.
You don’t have to “believe” in grounding. Your cells already do.
2. A long, slow exhale
You don’t need a method. Just breathe out longer than you breathe in.
This flips your system toward safety almost instantly. It’s one of the fastest ways to tell your body, “You can soften now.”
3. Reducing the tiny stressors you’ve learned to ignore
Your nervous system picks up everything — even the things you think “don’t matter.”
Like fluoride in your water. If you missed that post, here it is: Why Are We Still Using Fluoride?
Or the constant pings on your phone. Or the noise in the background you stopped hearing. Or the endless light at night.
It’s the little things that knock your system off balance. It’s the little things that help bring it back.
Your Nervous System Wants to Heal
This is the part most people don’t realize:
You don’t have to force healing. Your nervous system already knows how to find its center — it just needs room.
A few minutes on the grass. One slower breath. A quieter environment. A cleaner input.
You don’t have to fix your whole life. You just have to give your body a moment where it doesn’t have to defend itself.
And before I close, I want to tell you something important: next week, we’re going even deeper into something that quietly shapes your stress levels — your data. I’m going to show you how the health apps you trust are collecting nervous-system information you didn’t even know you were giving away.
It’s called Why Your Data Isn’t Yours: The Hidden Economy of Health Tech, and it’s eye-opening.
With love and truth,
—Donna 💚
Sources & Studies Mentioned
Healthline. “Grounding: What It Is, How It Works & the Science.”
https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding
Chevalier, G. “Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons.” Journal of Environmental and Public Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/
Harvard Health Publishing. “Relaxation Techniques & Breath Control.”
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response
